Luis Ortigoza – a biography

Luis Ortigoza in Teatro Municipal de Santiago

Luis Ortigoza was born in Argentina, and studied classical ballet with Maestro Mario Galizzi and at the Ballet School of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

In 1988 he joined the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, and later that same year he was hired by the Ballet de Santiago in Chile, being promoted to Principal Dancer in 1990, after winning the Silver Medal in the IV International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.

He has danced in Galas and International Festivals in countries such as Argentina, Paraguay, Germany, Brazil, Cuba, USA, Spain, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Uruguay, Mexico, China and Russia, sharing the stage with renowned stars.

He was nominated twice for the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award for his Drosselmeyer and Prince in Nureyev’s Nutcracker and for Don José in Marcia Haydée’s Carmen.

He was distinguished with the 1992 Critics Award (Chile), the APES Award nine times (Chile), 1999 KONEX Diploma (Argentina) as one of the five best ballet dancers of the decade, the 2006 CLARIN Award (Argentina) as best dancer for his role of Des Grieux in MacMillan’s Manon.

In 2007 the Argentinian Embassy in Chile awarded him for his Artistic Career and Achievements, and also he won the 2007 ELENA SMIROVA Medal (Argentina), and in 2009 the KONEX PLATINIUM as the best dancer from last decade.

In 2007 created his own version of La Bayadère for the Ballet de Santiago, which received great critical success from both the public and press. In 2008 choreographed the Sylvia Pas de Deux for the 150 year celebrations of the Municipal Theatre. In 2010 Luis created his own version of the Paquita Grand Pas Classique for The Gala Bicentenario 2010.

Under Marcia Haydée’s Artistic Direction of the Ballet de Santiago he became a member of the company’s staff as Assistant Director, and in the 2007 ballet season he got promoted to the Premier Danseur Etoile category.

In 2013 he was presented with the 2013 Critics Award (Chile) for his role as Prince Rudolph in Mayerling. In 2014 his La Bayadère scored a success at the Municipal Ballet Theater Rio de Janeiro.

In 2014 the Chilean Congress granted him Honorary Citizenship of the country and the Medal of Merit for his contribution to the development of culture in Chile.

Graham Spicer

Writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name 'Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like.

I was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. My scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times. I write the 'Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times.